It was already 10pm, and I still don’t know our itinerary. The flight was at 9am the following day and while I have packed already, I still need to make sure I have everything I would need for the activities they have in store for us. As 11 o’clock roll by, our itinerary finally comes via e-mail. Within seconds after opening the document, my annoyance melted away: we were having dinner at Zubuchon and island hopping with Islands Banca!

Inside Zubuchon. This restaurant is just too pretty.

While Cebuanos might argue that Zubuchon isn’t really the authentic Cebu Lechon, I was still quite excited to try the restaurant. Being an avid Market Manila reader, I’m really excited to try the dishes Market Man has been writing about.

Zubuchon lechon

This isn’t the first time I encountered Zubuchon, actually. We were able to try it back in 2009 when they were still selling freshly chopped lechon at the Banilad town center. In 2010, fresh and frozen Zubuchon was available at the domestic pre-departure lounge of the Mactan-Cebu International airport, so I was able to buy it again during a quick trip to Cebu. Market Man finally took the plunge and opened the first Zubuchon restaurant in Cebu earlier this year at Mango Square.

Squid stuffed with lechon sisig

We were welcomed to the restaurant by Joan Danao, Zubuchon’s General Manager. As we settled into our table (after taking a hundred photos of the restaurant and the lechon), we perused the menu and was quickly overwhelmed with the choices: everything is made with lechon! Sinigang na lechon, lechon sisig, mongo with lechon… where do you start? Joan fired off a list of dishes she wanted us to try and soon enough, our table was practically groaning with the amount of food our little party of six.

Yummy santol juice and kamias (iba) shake

I wouldn’t go too much into detail about the food, except that it does tastes as good as Market Man describes it. When you do get a chance to eat at Zubuchon (whether in their Mango or Escario branch), do try their home made chicharon, squid stuffed with lechon sisig and the Zubuliempo. Despite not being a fan of kamias, I thoroughly enjoyed their iba shake, which also serves as a great palate cleanser. If you’re a santol lover like me, be sure to order the santol juice. It’s simply amazing. For dessert, you can try Joan’s leche flan, which is very light and not too sweet. If you have more space in your stomach, also try the biko, which they source from a seller who’s been making it for decades.

The best biko you’ll ever taste

Prices range between Php 150 to Php 400 and serving sizes are good for 2 to 3 people. It’s not the cheapest restaurant to dine in, but it’s a pretty good value for money. It’s definitely a good place to try lechon and other Filipino dishes.

Islands Banca’s Butanding docked at Pandanon Island

Following our lechon-laden dinner, we headed to Mactan island for our island hopping tour with Islands Banca. This is my first time to island hop in Cebu and I have to admit I was more than intrigued with Islands Banca. I’ve seen their website last year and thought it was frivolous; island hopping can be done with regular outrigger boats at half the cost, so why shell out more money?

Inside the banca

I got my answer when I saw the Butanding. Named after the gentle whale shark, Island Banca’s biggest boat can accommodate up to 30 passengers and features padded benches, cushioned lounge chairs, comfortable couches and inviting beanbags. There’s even an iPod dock, Wi-fi and a toilet. It’s basically a chill out lounge on water.

Stools and tables that doubles as a cooler

Islands Banca’s services goes beyond providing you with a banca. It’s manned by trained crew who will attend to your needs and even prepare a picnic for you if you so choose. Since we had limited time, we only made two stops: to the Gilutungan Marine Sanctuary to snorkel (they have a snorkels on board) and to Pandanon Island in Bohol.

Pushing off their dock in Punta Engaño

At the risk of sounding shallow, the tour was made better by bean bags. I’ve been to a number of island hopping trips and in all of them, I ended up nodding off and waking up every 5 minutes because sleeping sitting up in a moving outrigger boat is really not the most comfortable thing in the world. Lying on my beanbag towards the bow of the boat, sea breeze keeping me cool while the sun shines brightly overhead, and the gentle rocking of the boat as it cuts through the water, I was in my most relaxed state in months.

Pandanon Island’s beach

If you have limited time in Cebu and can’t take an island hopping tour, you might want to try their Chill-out Cruise, which takes you across the Mactan channel at sunset. The 90-minute cruise departs at 5:30pm from the Cebu Yatch Club and costs Php 295 per person (inclusive of one drink).

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in Cebu last week. I, along with Melo, Noemi and Eric, were invited by Radisson Blu Cebu for the opening of the Thai Food Festival, which runs until October 9, 2011.

Radisson Blu’s lobby

Of course, it’s par for the course for us to experience first hand why Radisson Blu is ranked the #1 hotel in Cebu in the travel website Tripadvisor.com.

The coffee-holic’s dream

We were given Business Class Superior rooms. The 61-square meter room has a receiving and work area. I love that there’s a divider between the bed and the receiving area so you can close off the area for privacy. The receiving area features a 2-seater couch, an arm chair, a 37-inch LCD TV with cable and a Nespresso machine, which I’m sure would delight any coffee addict (and impress whoever dropping by your room). There’s also the complimentary tea service and mini-bar, which is discreetly stored in the counter cabinet.

Work and leisure area

Sharing the sleeping area is the work space at the opposite end and what I call the “reading area.” The arm chair was surprisingly comfortable, and I quite enjoyed sitting in it while watching Gossip Girl on my laptop.

The desk gives you a view of the docks and the sunset. There is ample space in the table for your laptop and documents, but if you have an unusual amount of paperwork, you can also put them in the counter beside the table.

Got gadgets? No problem.

My favorite feature of the work area is the bank of electrical outlets. Forgot to bring your universal adapter? No problem! Their outlets can accommodate any type of plug. What impressed me most though was the USB dock for charging devises that you would normally need a laptop to charge. How convenient is that?

Comfy, comfy bed

Ever since I heard Raj complaining about Leonard putting disgusting memories in his memory foam mattress, I’ve been wondering what a memory foam mattress and how it differ from other mattresses. I’m no mattress expert, but that bed sure was divine. I slept comfortably and if not for text messages coming in the middle of the night, I slept soundly until morning (which is rare).

Bathroom counter and amenities

The toilet and bath was just the right size for one with ample counter space for even the most high maintenance traveler. I was delighted when I saw there was a shower cubicle instead of a bath tub because I hate showering inside tubs. There are two shower heads — fixed and hand held. The water pressure is really good and the water heats up in no time. Again, there is plenty of space for your bath things.

Thai dishes at the Feria restaurant

Feria, Radisson Blu Cebu’s all-day dining restaurant serves a wide array of cuisine. You’re spoilt for choice, whether you’re hankering for meat, pasta or salads. Speaking of pasta, Feria gives you the option to have freshly made pasta cooked to your preference. Another homemade favorite is their ice cream, which is made right there in the restaurant to the full view of diners. It’s a clear winner among the guests, as we see the chef making a new batch every time we go in to dine.

A small sampling of Feria’s desserts

Guests staying at the Business Class rooms have access to the Executive Lounge at the 20th floor. While the dining area is smaller and offer a limited variety of breakfast items (but don’t worry, there’s bacon!), there is significantly less people dining here. So if you’re looking to have a very relaxed breakfast, this is the place to go.

Radisson Blu Cebu is located right beside SM Cebu and has direct access to the mall. The hotel is about 20 minutes away from Mactan Cebu international airport, and 10 minutes from downtown Cebu. It’s quite a convenient location. No wonder they’re getting high marks.

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

Aside from the Philippine Blog Awards’ Visayas Leg, we had another mission in Cebu: to eat, and to eat well. Lucky for us Cebu has a lot of great homegrown restaurants that not only serve good food, but are also quite affordable.

Abuhan’s beef pochero. Photo from file because I couldn’t be arsed to take any photos that evening.

Our first meal in Cebu was at Abuhan Dos, a favorite of mine since my first trip to the island back in 2006. I always make it a point to eat here when I’m visiting, and I convinced Gail, Marc and Juned to try it out last Friday night.

Pochero in Cebu is what we in Manila would call bulalo (beef bone marrow soup). A huge beef shank was served in an equally huge bowl, surrounded by meat, veggies, corn and the best full-flavored beef broth. As if this wasn’t sinful enough, we paired it off with an order of Sizzling Pochero: the same tender beef shank slathered in creamy, buttery gravy served in a sizzling plate. YUM. I was so happy that the first timers in Abuhan loved it, including Sha and Karla who arrived later that night.

Lunch the following day was at a beach in Talisay. Markku took us to his hometown, and we were treated to a taste of Talisay lechon, as well as a number of fresh seafood. Apart from the usual grilled and fried fish, we were also able to some exotic seafood: sea urchin, sea cucumber, and this one thing that looked like some sort of shell. We were all wary of it, but when someone was brave enough to try it and pronounced it good, we followed suit. It was pretty good. Tasted like squid.

Can anyone tell me what this is? It tastes like squid, and everything is edible, except for the tip.

Before we parted ways that afternoon, Winston suggested that we try Moon Cafe at the Ayala Terraces. The place had a Mexican theme going on, and serve a number of Mexican specialties. However, most of the items in the menu are Western and Filipino fares. But ah, the food was good! We ordered food like there’s no tomorrow: nachos, pizza, flautas, sisig and several plates of baby back ribs. Most of what we ordered were a big hit, specially the sisig and the baby back ribs. When the bill arrived, we were all surprised: the total cost was just a little over Php 3,000. Considering that we were a table of 10 and we ordered a shitload of food, we expected a much higher amount.

A couple of weeks before we left for Cebu, a blog entry came to my attention that made me so excited about the trip: Marketman has announced that his crew would be selling the lechon that Anthony Bourdain proclaimed as the
best pig ever.” Zubuchon is available for whole lechon orders any day of the week, but on Sundays, you can troop over to the Banilad Town Center to buy per kilo. The lechon has been generating a lot of buzz in the local Cebuano media, so we thought it’d be best to go there early to ensure that we don’t ruin out of lechon. True enough, we arrive at 10:05 (the Sunday market opens at 10am), and they were already hacking away on their second lechon. There were two customers ahead of us, and right before we left, there was already a small line forming. As Marketman mentioned, Zubuchon is not your typical lechon. It does not have the smooth skin lechon usually have, instead it has a texture much like chicharon. Actually, the skin tasted like chicharon, only a tad sweeter. Ahh, how my mouth water just thinking of this lechon.

The Zubuchon stall at the Banidal Town Center Sunday market

Our last meal in Cebu was at the Golden Cowrie restaurant in Lahug. This came highly recommended, and we were all looking forward to trying out their much talked about Baked Scallops. The scallops exceeded our expectations, and we ended up ordering two more in the course of the meal. Aside from the scallops, we also had the equally exceptional gambas, as well as the cripy pata, native chicken tinola, escabeche, tuna fingers and sweet chili chicken.

The eating doesn’t end in Cebu. Just before we headed to the Mactan airport, we made a last stop at Tabo-an market to buy souvenirs to take home. Tabo-an is your one-stop shop for pasalubong shopping in Cebu. Just as long as the only souvenir you’re planning to take home is food, that is. Different variations of danggit by the bushels line all storefront, along with other kinds of dried seafood. Inside the stores are other Cebuano delicacies like the Cebu longganisa, otap, rosquillos, dried mangoes and chicharon. Each of us took home several kilos of dried fish and other snacks, enough to last us until that next trip to Cebu.

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

This is actually the fourth time I’ve been to Cebu, but there’s still a lot more that I haven’t been to in the city. I was alone when I first set foot in the island, there were two of us when I returned a a few months after, and there were three of us when I returned last year. Last Saturday, I was in a group of fourteen bloggers: Gail, Marc, Juned, Melo, Karla, Sha, Hana, Markku, Winston, Coy, Mica and Ada.

Magellan’s Cross

We all flew in for the Cebu leg of the Philippine Blog Awards, and we all met up Saturday morning for a half-day tour and plenty of good food. Our first stop was the Basilica del Santo Niño de Cebu, a 16th century church where an image of the child Jesus is housed. Devotees flock the church any day of the week to pray and show their devotion.

Right beside it is the the Magellan’s cross. The cross standing inside is just a replica of the cross that was planted in Cebu when Ferdinand Magellan claimed the territory for Spain. Milling around the small chapel that housed the cross are old ladies selling candles and prayers. For a fee, they will perform the Sinulog: a prayer that is offered while dancing.

Lighting a candle at the Sto. Niño Basilica

From Cebu’s historic center, we drove out of the city and into Talisay, Markku’s hometown. We went to the beach where we gorged ourselves on Talisay lechon and different kinds of seafood (fish, clams, sea cucumber, sea urchin and some other stuff I can’t identify). We had pusô to go with it. Pusô is rice cooked in a woven pouch made with palm leaf. Afterwards, they plied us with native snacks like biko, kunselba, and salvaro. The PBA officers and organizers had an impromptu meeting right after lunch, and to pass the time waiting, I walk down to the water’s edge to take photos of the skimboarders riding the waves.

Skimboarding in Talisay

Before the sea breeze relaxes us too much, we trooped back to the van for the ride back to the city. We drove to Fort San Pedro, one of the Spanish’s military defenses around the country. It’s tiny compared to Fort Santiago, and the sea have moved quite from ways from the fort, owing to reclamation. Activities for kids are sometimes held inside the grounds, but there are still plenty of places inside the old fort where you can find (relative) peace and quiet.

Fort San Pedro

There was still some light and ample time left before dinner, so we sped to the Taoist Temple on Bevery Hills. As we were hurrying to the temple’s main gate, we were warned that the temple will close in 20 minutes. We headed up the stairs leading up to the temple, barely stopping to catch our breaths just so we’ll have enough time to take photos. Alas, less than a minute at the top and this surly lady was shouting that the temple is already closed. Some have already started making their way down, while there are some still catching their breaths from the climb up. All of a sudden, this lady screams for us to get out. That was the only sour note in our Cebu tour.

Instead of touring some more, we decided to just head to our respective hotels to rest and freshen up before meeting again for dinner. Dinner was at Moon Cafe at the new Ayala Terraces. That night proved that there’s a pretty big reason to love Cebu. Food is good and food is cheap. Moon Cafe was a great discovery. Winston suggested this place to us, and we were all so glad he did. The food was great and the price was simply outrageous — we had twice as much food as we would have had in another restaurant for half the price. For dessert, we went to another fantastic discovery: Gelatissimo. Serving fine Italian gelato, this quaint cafe serves a bevy of interesting flavors from plain chocolates to flavor-packed fruit gelato. We all can’t wait for Gelatissimo to open in Greenbelt 5 this December.

Looking down on Cebu City below

We parted ways in good spirits — save for that rude lady at the Taoist temple, our first full day in Cebu was a blast. It helped that we were with friends, but this tour (even if only for half a day) made me realize that there really is so much to love about Cebu.

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

I was looking through my archive and in my personal files and I was surprised to find out that I didn’t have any spreadsheet on my first Cebu trip’s expenses. I’m pretty certain I wrote down all my expenses, but I guess after tallying it, I passed out because it was pretty darned expensive. I *am* quite a high maintenance traveler. I can rough it out, but as long as I’m traveling with people who doesn’t mind splurging, my weekend jaunts will always be over 10K >_<

1 This was kept low because I spent the night at my friend’s house in Makati, and on the way home, I took a regular taxi, instead the expensive airport taxi I usually take.
2 The was also kept low because I shared the cost of the taxi with Melo and Eric from the Mactan airport to Cebu. For our return flight, Melo and I rode Shangri-La Mactan’s free airport shuttle service.
3 It was mostly taxi, but since there were three of us sharing, the cost was kept at a minumum. The most expensive taxi ride was the Php 250 from our hotel to Shangri-La Mactan (unmetered).
4 We eat a lot. A huge chunck of this was due to Acqua, Shangri-La Mactan’s awesome Italian restaurant. The price is not so awesome though. Cheapest meal was the Php 88 dinner at Larsian.
5 I bought an extra SD card because I was anticipating that I would be taking lots of videos. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my battery.
6 The bag! It was too cute! I can’t NOT buy it! T_T
7 That Php 30 Internet went a LONG way. Net Express across the University of San Carlos offers Php 8/hour Internet rates during off peak hours, and Php 12/hour during peak.
8 I bought an Island Souvenir T-shirt for my niece, some cellphone charms, Cebu Chorizo, dried mangoes and Shamrock otap.

Download:
Cebu 2008.xls (81K)
Cebu 2008.pdf (65K)

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

The great thing about traveling with friends is that you have more energy and motivation to go out and explore. I remember the first time I went to Cebu. It was my first solo travel, and I was exhausted and I found the heat intolerable. I didn’t have the energy to explore Cebu, checking out only one or two landmarks. This time though, with two avid travelers as my companion, I was determined to see the places I missed the first time I was in Cebu.

Three icons of the Chinese culture: the 8-sided pagoda, the lion and the dragon

 
First in the itinerary was the Taoist Temple. There’s a huge population of Chinese and Chinese-Filipinos in Cebu, and the influence of the culture can be seen where ever you go. The temple is not easily accessible — located inside the posh Beverly Hills subdivision, you’d have to take a taxi to go there. From the area of the Fuente-Osmeña Circle, the fare is around Php 80. The Cebu Taoist Temple is best visited early on in the day or in the late afternoon, when the sun is not too hot. There are 99 steps to climb to reach the main temple, and from there you are rewarded with stunning views of the city below, as well as the islands of Mactan and Bohol.

The Cebu Cathedral

 
From the Taoist Temple, we took another taxi to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. Since it was a Sunday, the cathedral was packed with people hearing mass. We only took some outdoor shots and made our way to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu. The two churches are within comfortable distance from each other. Like the Cebu Cathedral, the Basilica was likewise packed. The church was located in a main thoroughfare, so most public utility vehicles are driving by. There are tons of street vendors outside the church, selling clothes, flowers, balloons, and even prayers.

Burning candles outside the Sto. Niño Basilica

 
Right beside the Basilica of the Sto. Niño is the Magellan’s Cross. The shrine is filled with tour groups filing in and out at intervals. There are ladies milling around the shrine. For a fee, they will perform the traditional Sinulog — a prayer done while dancing and waving a bunch of candles.

The Oriente at Colon Street

 
From the Basilica, we made our way down the road to Colon street, the oldest street in the Philippines. I was getting pretty tired and hungry at this time, and I just wanted to breeze through Colon. It turns out that there is plenty to see in Colon. Like the rest of Cebu, there are plenty of beautiful architecture that’s just begging to be photographed and restored to its full glory. Unfortunately, the traffic, the banderitas and the powerlines made for an annoying photoshoot, so we cut it short and hopped on a SM-bound jeep.

Cebu’s CNT Lechon

 
SM wasn’t really our destination — it’s what’s across SM that we’re after. CNT Lechon’s restaurant across SM was our target. It was already 1pm, yet the restaurant was still packed. This is not a fancy restaurant, mind you. The place was not airconditioned, and it’s like a glorified turo-turo wherein you go up to the counter and point at the dishes you want to order. A trip to Cebu isn’t complete without a taste of the local lechon, and CNT delivers with the cripy skin and flavorful meat that doesn’t have you reaching for that bottle of Mang Tomas.

Guitar from Guitar Master

 
Our Cebu lechon craving satisfied, we headed out to Mactan, to look for a Cebu guitar factory or store. We ended up at Guitar Master, and after a passionate sales talk from Mr. Ronie, we headed back into Cebu to look for danggit. Tabo’an Market is the place to go for anything dried: they have danggit (rabbitfish), dilis (anchovy), pusit (squid), and every variation of daing (dried fish).

Daing at Tabo’an Market

 
We were welcomed with mini mountains of every variety of dried seafood. After a round of photos, it was down to serious pasalubong shopping. While everyone is busy buying danggit, I opted to buy some Cebu chorizo, something I just discovered and tried the night before. A kilo of danggit goes for Php 400+, while the chorizo goes for Php 190 per kilo. Apart from the chorizo, I also bought some packets of Guadalupe brand dried mango strips, a brand I read about in other blogs, and something I am longing to find in Manila because it’s so good.

University of San Carlos

 
With our plastic bags tightly sealed (the dried fish tastes good, but it has that strong smell when uncooked), we jump into a taxi and headed back to the hotel to freshen up before meeting the Cebu bloggers. By the time we changed our clothes and headed out, the sun was almost setting, casting a fine soft light on our hotel’s neighboring building, the University of San Carlos.

Meeting the Cebu-based bloggers was an experience. It was great seeing and meeting new faces. Fresh new faces at that… they were all so young! To Arnold, McBilly, Jorich, Wilhelmina, Aileen, Empress, Xerxes, Kevin, Rodel, Sinjin, Maibe, Winston and Mark, thank you for meeting with this weird group of Manila travel bloggers

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

Apart from fresh and dried mangoes, otap and danggit, one of Cebu’s other major product is its guitars. Filipinos know that when you want the best quality local-made guitars for the best value prices, you go to Cebu.

Being avid travel photographers, going to a Cebu guitar factory or store is in the itinerary. We hopped on a cab and told the driver to take us to Mactan island, where most of the guitar shops are located in Cebu. We ended up at Guitar Master, and was met by Ronie, a passionate man who believes in making good quality guitars without the expensive price tag. The conversation turned technical, so I resorted to playing around with the Canon Ixus’ video feature and patched together this little piece.

I’m not a music expert, but that guitar sounded pretty nice.

Guitar Master
Quezon National Highway
Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu
Philippines
Phone: +6332-495-2412
Mobile: +63920-224-3767
Contact: Ronie Pangatunan

How to get there: From Cebu, take the Mandaue-Mactan bridge to cross to Mactan Island. At the first intersection, turn left. Guitar Master is on the right side.

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

Last Saturday, I flew into Cebu with Eric and Melo to participate in the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo. This is a festival of festivals — contingents from all around Cebu are converging in the big city to show off to the rest of the province what their town’s festival is like.

Here’s a very short video clip, a tiny sampling of the contingent’s street dancing perfomances during the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo. I was anticipating that I’d be taking a lot of photos and videos for this trip, so I bought an extra 2GB SD card. Unfortunately, my foresight didn’t extend to my camera’s battery — it died shortly after the contingents started dancing their way from Mandaue City Hall to the CICC. >_<

Copyright 2006-2011 Nina Fuentes | Justwandering.org | Let’s build the Blogger House with Habitat for Humanity!

Chatting with Eric, Ryan and Blooey about regional airports and domain names reminded me of this Bonamine ad I saw at Cebu’s sea port last year:

Panalo talaga to!

Have a great Thursday!

I haven’t saved enough money to afford accomodations at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, but I have enough for a day tour. Or as they call it, a day in paradise.

It was paradise indeed. True to the Shangri-La tradition of excellence, the island resort is a great getaway from the city (which is only 30 minutes away). From the lush green gardens to the stunning white sand, from the sparkling waters of the sea to the welcoming cool of the infinity pool, from the abundance of available facilities to the attention of their staff, Shangri-La makes sure you get your money’s worth.

A day in paradise costs Php 2,000. This includes access to their beach, use of their pools, towels, a discount for their Health Club services, and a lunch buffet at the Tides.

Ah, the Tides. Where do I begin? The lunch buffet is available from 12 noon until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. There’s a wide array of international and local dishes, set up in different areas of the restaurant. I suggest that you go around and see what’s available, or you might end up piling food on your plate and getting the oddest combinations.

Then comes the dessert. They have a wide selection of the freshest fruits, divine chocolate concoctions, biscuits, marshmallows and fruits you can smother with chocolate and crepes made to your liking. ‘Twas paradise indeed.

After that gastronomic adventure, I settled down for some peppermint tea before I head off to the airport. Another great thing about Shangri-La is that they have a regular shuttle going to and from the airport and shopping centers in Cebu city. So instead of having to shell out money for a taxi ride to the airport, I just waited for their airport shuttle.

I was just a tad overwhelmed by the attention from the Shangri-La staff. It started when I asked the front desk of their shuttle schedule, the guy behind the counter got on the radio and asked what time the shuttle will be back. He then calls another staff to assist me with my bags, and he continued harassing the shuttle driver to hustle back to the hotel.

To my surprise, it wasn’t just a van; it was a 20-seater coaster. Another surprise came when the bus driver drove off after I settled inside the bus. I have the whole coaster to myself. I feel so special. As we near the airport, the driver asked me if I already bought souvenirs. I told him I already bought some, but I want to buy a couple more things. I said I’ll just buy them at the airport. The prices they give you at the airport is too high, he said. He then detoured to the tourist shops near the airport entrance. Well, it wasn’t cheap there either, but it was still cheaper than the overpriced stuff at the airport.

I picked a pack of danggit and a couple of pawikan refrigerator magnets for my friends. After paying, the lady handed over my purchases to somebody standing behind me. I turn and lo and behold, my “driver” was standing by to carry my 500 gram pack of dried fish. Now THAT is service.

Getting there:
Shangri-La Mactan is in Mactan Island, along the Punta Engaño road. It is 20-30 minutes from the foot of the Marcelo H. Fernan Bridge (Mandaue-Mactan bridge), and about an hour from Cebu City.

From Mactan, you can ride a jeep going to Punta Engaño and get off at the gate to the resort. The fare is about Php 11.

You can also take a taxi, and it will cost you approximately Php 80 from Mactan, and Php 150 – 170 from Cebu City.

While researching about Cebu, I came across countless raves about Cebu’s Pochero, particularly from the restaurant called Abuhan. Ever the fan of scrumptious food, I listed down Abuhan’s address in my little notebook.

After the heat of walking around the city and feeling the fatigue settling in (I had the grand idea of working and NOT getting any sleep before my 5am flight), I decided to have an early lunch at Abuhan’s.

It was pretty pricey for one person, I thought as I look at the menu. At Php 260 per bowl, it better be worth it.

And it was. The bowl was HUGE. One serving was enough for 2 – 4 persons, so the price of one bowl can go as low as Php 65 per person.

I was pretty dehydrated by this time, and a big soup fan, I happily sipped the broth. It devine; the beef was very tender, the veggies crisp and the soup was very tasty. Abuhan’s pochero is unlike the pochero we know in Manila. While our pochero is red with tomato sauce/paste, their is more like a bulalo. It is served with a small knife for cutting off beef still attached to the bone and a popsicle stick for digging out the marrow. Mmmmmmmmm.

I read somewhere that there are two Abuhan branches in Cebu, Abuhan 1 and Abuhan Dos. I went to Abuhan Dos, which is at F. Ramos, near the Fuente-Osmeña Circle. It’s also less than five minutes away from Robinson’s by foot.

I was so restless while attempting to sunbathe (under the shade, haha) at Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa, so I decided to take random pictures.

My sources (who shall remain nameless) tell me that Mactan’s sand isn’t really this fine or white. They go on to say that Shangri-La imports their sand from another island in the Philippines. But you didn’t hear that from me.